1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to holders and containers for plastic trash bags and more particularly, to a support for plastic bags having flexible loops or handles, which support is characterized by a pair of bag handle retainers located on a frame for receiving the handles of the plastic bags and retaining the plastic bags, one-by-one, in the frame. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the support is constructed of plastic, metal or fiberglass material and is characterized by a square or rectangular base fitted with spaced, rigid, upward-standing vertical members and a rectangular bag retainer supported by the vertical members parallel to and spaced from the base, with downwardly-extending bag handle retainers provided on the vertical members. The pouch of a plastic shopping bag having oppositely-disposed, flexible plastic handles is inserted in the bag retainer, with the flexible bag handles folded outwardly over the bag retainer and downwardly into engagement with the bag handle retainers, respectively, in order to secure the bag in the support. An optional lid may be hinged to the bag retainer for closing the mouth of the bag and the support and controlling odor, as desired.
While brown paper shopping bags of various size have long been used by grocery stores and other business enterprises for packing groceries and merchandise, in recent years plastic shopping bags have seen increasing use in this capacity. These plastic shopping bags are shallow and are commonly designed with a bag pouch having oppositely-disposed, integral plastic handles at the top or mouth, for carrying the bag. The bags are sometimes used in garbage cans and trash receptacles as liners. However, a problem which is sometimes realized in the use of such plastic bags in this capacity is the propensity of the bags to slide inwardly of the carrying receptacle and collapse when filled with garbage or trash. Other trash bags which are larger and deeper and are designed without the resilient carrying handles are normally placed in a garbage receptacle or trash container with the top of the bag folded over the edges of the container to retain the bag in place. However, the plastic shopping bags having such handles are normally not sufficiently deep to facilitate folding the top edge and the handles over the edge of most containers, which are deeper than the shopping bag, a factor which further complicates the problem of stabilizing such bags in a trash or garbage container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of garbage bag holders and trash container receptacles are known in the art. Typical of these devices is the "Plastic Garbage Bag Holder and Sealer" detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,565, dated Oct. 3, 1972, to John Hodges. The patent details a holder for plastic garbage bags, which holder is capable of constantly retaining the mouth of the bag in the "open" and "closed" positions by resistance friction, but is also capable of permitting the bag to be disposed such that the mouth appears to be displayed in "open" configuration and optionally in "closed" configuration, although the mouth remains open. A "Plastic Sack Holder" is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,474, dated Oct 4, 1983, to Rita Swenson. The Swenson patent describes a device designed to hold a limp plastic sack open for loading purposes. The sack is characterized by a body portion terminating in a base and having a pair of integrally-formed handles. The device for supporting the sack includes a horizontally-disposed base member, a pair of oppositely-disposed, upwardly-projecting side wall members, each of which is attached at its lower end to the base member, an upwardly-projecting rear wall member designed such that each vertical edge of the rear wall member is attached to a vertical edge of each of the side wall members and further including means at the top of the device for engaging the handles of the plastic sack. U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,867, dated July 10, 1984, to James J. Malik, details a "Wire Rack Bag Holding Device". The device is designed for holding a plastic bag open so that it can be filled, and is constructed from wire stock, essentially without welds. The plastic bag is characterized by integral handle loops which are held apart in the rack. The wire rack includes left and right swing panels, each formed from a single length of wire stock, a spacer frame which includes plural, parallel wire members having wrap-around ends that are wrapped around the upper portions of each panel, and a base support which connects the panels and receives the base of the bag. Each swing panel includes a tab-shaped, horizontal upper portion to engage a handle loop of the plastic bag and hold it open. U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,388, dated Dec. 11, 1984, to Alexander R. Provan, details a "Holder for Facilitating Loading of Plastic Bags". The holder is designed to carry bags having an open mouth and upwardly-extending handle loops, which loops are placed on spaced tabs located in the holder. When the bag is loaded, the loaded bag is removed from the holder by lifting the loops from the tabs. The holder avoids the use of welds at points where it is subjected to twisting or rocking forces. U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,683, dated Nov. 4, 1986, to Susan D. Claydon, et al, details an "Apparatus for Supporting a Flexible Container in an Open Position". The support structure is designed to contain plastic shopping bags and is both collapsible for storage and readily assembled to support the flexible container in an open position for the placement of items therein. A "Bag Stand Container" is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,357, dated Sept. 1, 1987, to James N. Webster. The device is characterized by a free-standing frame and lid assembly for supporting plastic garbage bags during filling. The stand includes a metal frame having a top rectangular section, over which the opening of the plastic bag may be stretched, a similar bottom rectangular section which rests on the floor and two vertical legs rigidly connected to the sections by a continuation of the same material. A lid is hinged to one side of the top rectangular section of the frame by a circular clip attached to the lid. The continuity of the material and the connections of the top and bottom sections to the legs provide rigidity to the frame and the stretched portion of the bag disposed over the frame opening forms an effective seal with the attached lid in place. "A Trash Bag Holder" is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,647, dated Feb. 7, 1989, to James M. Celmayster, et al. The trash bag holder is designed for holding a loop-handle trash bag and includes a pair of inverted, U-shaped supports which are supported by a pair of elongated bases. Each support includes a pair of vertical legs and an upper connecting portion that extends between the legs. Upper bight portions of the legs and ends of each connecting portion cooperate to define notches that receive the looped handles in the trash bag to secure the bag handles in place. Lower distal ends of the support legs are received within connection holes in the base ends, such that the bases extend in spaced and parallel relationship to each other, to facilitate use of the holder on unobstructed floor spaces. The supports are preferably constructed from bent metal wire, while the bases are preferably manufactured from injection-molded plastics.
It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved support for plastic bags having handles, which support is characterized by a base member, vertical members upward-standing from the base member, bag handle retainers located on the vertical members, respectively, and a bag retainer attached to the extending ends of the vertical members and spaced from the bag handle retainers, for receiving a plastic bag, with the handles of the bag engaging the bag handle retainers, in order to maintain the bag in position in the support.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved support for receiving and supporting plastic bags having integral handle loops, which support includes a square or rectangular base member, a pair of upwardstanding, rigid vertical members attached to or integrally formed with the base member, a pair of bag handle retainers attached to the vertical members, a rectangular top retainer member supported by the vertical members and spaced from the base member, wherein the bag pouch is inserted in the top retainer member and the bag handle retainers receive and support the integral handle loops of the bag to maintain the bag in position in the support, and further including a lid hinged to the top retainer member for closing the bag.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a bag support for supporting a plastic bag having oppositely-disposed, integral, flexible handle loops, which bag support is characterized by a base of selected size and shape, a pair of spaced, rigid, vertical members upward-standing from fixed attachment to the base, a bag retainer having a configuration corresponding to the shape of the base and attached to the vertical supports in spaced relationship with respect to the base for receiving the pouch of a plastic bag, and a pair of bag handle retainers secured to the mid-portions of the vertical members and fitted with downwardly-extending cleats for receiving and removably retaining the handle loops of the bag.